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Ye Shall Be As Gods

When a team hits on a winning tactic, then logic dictates that it should continue to use that tactic as long as it remains effective. Team Satan is no exception.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, Satan set the standard for false doctrine, outlining in a single sentence the roots from which all heresies spring.

It began with God issuing a prohibition to Adam and Eve regarding the fruit of one particular tree in the Garden of Eden.

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

It was a simple and straightforward prohibition — there wasn’t much room for misunderstanding. Indeed, that was the purpose of the prohibition. The choices were black and white — there was no room for shades of gray.

When the serpent came to tempt Eve, he did several things. First, he cast doubt on God’s Word; (“Yea, hath God said?”) and Eve responded by ADDING to God’s Word.

“. . . Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Genesis 3:1b-3)

What God really said was:

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

Eve added the part about ‘touching’ it — and the rest, as they say, is history. Once God’s word has been ‘bent’ it is only a matter of time before it gets broken. Eve entered into a battle of wits without knowing she was unarmed.

Note Satan’s reply. First, he calls God a liar:

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die . . .”

Then, to support the charge, he makes God out to be the ‘bad guy’.

“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:3-4)

Skeptics often point to the Garden of Eden as an example of the ‘contradictions’ in Scripture. After all, God said that Adam and Eve would die the very day they broke God’s prohibition, yet Adam lived another eight hundred years.

There is no contradiction. In the first place, on the day they sinned, they died spiritually. In the second place, twice in Scripture we are told that a ‘day’ to the Lord is as a ‘thousand years’ is to us.

By that standard, neither Adam nor Eve survived that ‘day’.

Let’s examine the rest of the Lie. First, there is the promise of hidden knowledge — “your eyes shall be opened.” That leads to the second lie; that knowledge will make us little gods. And finally, as gods whose eyes have been opened, we can tell the difference between good and evil.

Good and evil are outcomes — and outcomes are known only to God. There is an old saying to the effect that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ because oftentimes, we set out to do something good for somebody, only to have it blow up in our faces.

For example, you buy your immature teenager a new sports car. You mean it for good. (It is possible to do something stupid with good intentions — I do it all the time)

But when your teenager is killed drag racing, you realize that what you meant for good brought you nothing but evil.

Conversely, you refuse to let your teenager have a car until he is mature enough to handle the responsibility. Because he hasn’t got his own car, he gets picked up hitchhiking and is never seen again.

You meant it for good, but in both cases, the outcome was exceedingly evil.

The day that our eyes are opened to the degree that we know good from evil is the day we will stand in God’s presence. On that day, we will know just how presumptuous we were.

If it wasn’t such a tragedy, I’m sure the angels would be rolling on the floor with laughter. “Ye shall be as gods.”

You’ve gotta be kidding!

Assessment:

We touched on this topic a few days ago, but from some of my emails, there is still some misunderstanding about the point I was trying to make.

We were discussing the controversy about tongues in the modern Church era, and whether or not it is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

But the point wasn’t tongues, it was heresy and heresy-hunting. What is our obligation? Is it to expose the heretics by name? Is it to go among the deceived to publicly proclaim the heresy and correct their doctrinal errors?

One could make an argument from Scripture that is indeed the responsibility of every Christian. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that we are sincere in our bedrock doctrinal beliefs, even though we disagree on certain issues.

For example, you are a pretribulational Dispensationalist who believes that the Church Age concludes with the Rapture of the Church.

I, on the other hand, am just as sincerely convinced that the Rapture takes place at the conclusion of the Tribulation Period.

You’ve been in such discussions where somebody has tried to convince you that you were the heretic. How convincing was that?

You’ve got your Bible, you’ve got your verses, you’ve been down this road a million times — and you are immovable.

Are you right? Of course, you are. But are you right? (Well, you sincerely believe the answer is yes again, but you’d rather not say so out loud. After all, infallibility is what your opponent is claiming).

Here’s the rub. It is possible to be infallible for yourself in matters of doctrine — that is the definition of ‘faith’. I believe with all my heart that I am infallibly correct on matters of settled doctrine — but I also know in my heart that I am NOT infallible.

Logically, I must content myself with the understanding that the Holy Spirit IS infallible, and He has shaped my doctrinal worldview according to His purposes. I must trust Him that I can trust His leading.

The problem is, the other guy believes exactly the same thing, if he is a sincere Christian.

Now, we get to the meat of our debate. Which one of us, in this example, is the ‘little god’ whose eyes have been opened by the fruit of knowledge, so that he can tell good from evil?

If you answered, “both of us” then you’ve pretty much nailed it.

How, then, do we learn? More than that, how do we teach? After all, we learn by discussing various doctrinal differences, taking the insights of like-minded believers and comparing those insights to the Revealed Word.

Having determined our doctrinal worldview, we then teach it to others the same way we learned it ourselves. By discussing the various views and determining for ourselves which view best lines up with Scripture.

But wait! That’s what the other guy did, too. He learned his doctrine the way you did, comparing it to the Scriptures and determining which view lines up best with his understanding of the Word of God.

Having adopted his doctrine as being the correct one, like you, he feels it is necessary to correct the heresy of others for the ‘good of the Church’ — just like you.

Personally, I have absolutely no problem in pointing out doctrinal error. I do it all the time. Where I have to remember to draw the line is in claiming doctrinal infallibility.

I don’t believe that my doctrine is flawed — indeed, if I had any doubts, I wouldn’t teach it. Anymore than I would allow somebody else to teach me if I believed his doctrine was in error.

But there comes a point in a doctrinal debate where a line is crossed — where one goes from being a teacher to a dictator.

And we’ve all crossed that line at some point. No?

Have you ever reached the point where you’ve accused somebody of not being saved because they don’t agree with you? (Or, put another way, that you don’t agree with them.)

Now, WHO is it that has the authority to pronounce someone saved or lost? A little god? Or the One Who shed His Blood that men might be saved?

When Jesus sent the Apostles out to preach the Gospel, He didn’t send them out to browbeat the unwilling, but just the opposite;

“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.” (Matthew 10:14)

Many of us take the Great Commission as evidence that our eyes have been opened, and, whether we care to admit it or not, that we are as gods, knowing good from evil.

In a sense, there is truth in that, but that is only true to a limited degree.

Our eyes HAVE been opened (to our sin) we ARE as gods (by virtue of our imputed righteousness) and we know ‘good from evil’ to a limited degree: (ie., God is good, we are evil.)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

But when we begin to think that WE can infallibly determine good and evil by virtue of our eyes having been opened by our understanding of Scripture, then we’ve crossed the line from heresy hunter to ‘heretic’ ourselves.

It is a fine line, but not really as fine as all that.

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1st Timothy 4:15)

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It’s been observed that, ‘Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die’. It makes you wonder – why is that? Since the worst thing anybody can do to another human being is kill them and the most desirable outcome for any Christian is to go home to glory. . . what’s up with that, anyway?

The Bible describes heaven as a place where the streets are made from gold, and where the ‘pure river of the water of Life proceeds out from the throne of God and of the Lamb’ where there shall be no night, since God Himself with illuminate it and so on.

What kind of mental image does this give you?

To me, it sounds pretty neat, but . . . somehow, not.

Please don’t run screaming from the room screaming ‘blasphemy’ just yet – I’m not finished. Give me a few more lines.

I recall sitting between a couple of sand dunes, surveying the wind-swept beach on one of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, watching as the breakers crashed into the pilings on the nearby pier. The sun was shining, the breeze was warm; it was altogether an idyllic scene.

The beauty was breathtaking. Alone with the Lord, I mused about what heaven must REALLY be like, if this wasn’t it. Indeed, as I pointed out earlier, John’s description of heaven was, um, nice, but where I was sitting was pretty nice, too. There were no rivers of living water, but I know that I am saved and have eternal life already.

The sand isn’t made of gold, but what value will gold have in eternity, anyway? It will pave the streets, as common as the sand. I like the sand.

And I LIKE the night; I’ve sat in that exact same spot at night, and when the breeze is warm and the stars are out, with the moon reflecting off the ocean it is no less idyllic than it is during the day.

I inquired of the Lord, and I began to get a bit of the Big Picture, as seen from outside of space and time. (No, I wasn’t smoking anything and I didn’t start to hear voices).

Instead, I thought about what the Bible said about heaven, and more to the point, what the Bible says about our Big Blue Marble.

The Bible describes the fall of Lucifer, his sin, and his ejection from heaven, together with the third of the angels who rebelled with him. When they were cast from heaven, where did they go?

The Book of Job says:

“And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:7, 2:2)

It has been my experience in studying God’s Word that when He causes something to be repeated, as in this case, it is worth giving it an extra look.

When Satan and his crew cast from heaven, they were cast to the earth, what the theologians call the ‘cosmos diabolicus’ or literally, a world of evil. To the angels, it was the worst place they could imagine — a place of involuntary and horrific exile.

Planet Earth is the one place in the universe where sin can exist without throwing the entire universe out of balance, thanks to the fact it has an environment that contains it.

Our environment, which sustains us, also contains us and keeps us from doing to the universe what we have already done to our planet.

Indeed, we managed to get to the outer fringes of our planet and what did we do? Filled it with orbiting space junk, some of which threatens OTHER orbiting space junk, such as the international space station.

Meanwhile, back on earth . . . when the fallen angels were cast to earth, it was an astonishing drop.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12)

Assessment:

To the angels, the beautiful seaside scene I described earlier is a cesspool of sin, a place of punishment to the angels who rebelled, a place so horrible, that seen from the heavenly perspective, merely being stuck here was enough to turn Lucifer the Archangel into Satan the Destroyer.

Imagine our planet from God’s perspective. Everything is stained by sin. The beautiful beach scene? Stained by sin. The ground we walk on? Stained by sin.

I tried to imagine that stain for what it is, and of course, I cannot. I can only defer to the Bible’s description of sin. It is so filthy, so repugnant, so disgusting, that God can’t bear to view it.

When God created Adam, He created a special place for him. The Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve fell, they were first cast OUT of the Garden, and into the cesspool where sin was allowed to operate freely.

Jerusalem sits in the middle of the cesspool. In the center of Jerusalem was the Temple, a place kept scrubbed of the taint of sin by the Levitical priesthood, and the Holy of Holies, a place scrubbed even more carefully.

The only place where God would commune with sinful man on this sin-stained planet was that tiny place where the muck of sin was scrubbed away as much as possible.

Until even that place became so buried in the muck and mire of sin that, after four hundred years of silence, He decided to Personally scrub it –and us — clean of it, once and for all.

Scripture says the angels were astonished that the Lord of Glory would assume human form, step out of sinless and perfect eternity, and wallow in the mire of sin with sinful humanity. Every step for Him must have been an agony, like walking knee-deep in sewage.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9)

It is a measure of how disgusting sin is to God. The fact it was the place God cast the rebellious angels is revealing. To the angels, our beautiful planet earth is a leper colony. We mortal humans are little more than bugs, willingly wallowing in the yuck of sin, yea, REVELING in it.

Yet the Scripture says that the angels are fascinated by us, and by our plight, and astonished by our unwillingness to climb out of the muck. It amazes them that men love the world, since they see it for what it is, and have some basis for comparison between it and the things of the spirit.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us . . .” (Hebrews 12:1)

“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and TO ANGELS, and to men.” (1 Corinthians 4:9)

Scripture tells us that;

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

We cannot imagine heaven, we can only compare it to earth and all its beauty and wonderment, and realize that the earth is the universe’s garbage dump. Heaven is like the Bible describes it; but it is much more.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

What IS death, that we fear it? In a word, separation. Death separates us from our loved ones. Death takes our loved ones from us, separating us from them until eternity.

Sin is a form of death. It separated the fallen angels from fellowship with God. It separates the unsaved from God. Revelation 20:14 speaks of the Great White Throne Judgment in which unbelievers are cast into the Lake of Fire as ‘the second death’ — a second – and permanent separation.

Sin separates us from God, our sin nature blinds us to that fact and so we love the world, and thereby astonish the angels. Picture the nastiest, gooeyest, smelliest substance you can think of, and imagine being in it up to your neck. From the angelic perspective, that’s where we are, and most of us are loving it, until we get saved.

Jesus said,

“Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10)

“Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

Paul tells us that we will receive new, immortal bodies.

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:49-50)

What is heaven like? I don’t know.

But I know what a beautiful, sunny day, a warm ocean breeze and the sights and sounds of the waves as they gently break on the shore is like.

And compared to heaven, it’s a cesspool.

To the angels, it is a place of exile, a leper colony, a place where the fallen angels were sent to await their fate at the Great White Throne. Our ‘beautiful’ planet is the angelic ‘hell’ to which they were cast to await sentencing to the Lake of Fire.

But we will be ‘equal to the angels’ says the Lord, in our immortal, sin-free bodies, and equal to the angels in understanding just HOW evil and repugnant this place really is, from the perspective of the spirit.

Why is it, then, that everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die?

Because if we knew what awaits us there, we’d all jump off a cliff tomorrow.

Thanks for sitting tight everyone. All of the old Omega Letter briefings have been imported into the new site. We will be importing the writer articles next and hopefully some new content will follow shortly after. Keep checking back for updates! – Joel

Today will be the last publishing from www.omegaletter.com. But there is an upside… Jack’s briefs are not lost.

We have mentioned the Vault a few times. In the age of information, we, as a collective, miss things. We aren’t reading to the end of the story. Time is of the essence, I suppose. (Psalm 46:10)

THE VAULT was created in 2007 by long time member, Joel Pena. There is a search, maps and Jack’s book, “The Last Generation”. And it all FREE. The best part is that it is not isolated to the internet. It’s a mini download to your computer. It’s there, on your computer, for you and your ministry, as an archive, forever!

OL’s wonderfully talented writers are working on several projects to get the Word out.

Towards Dad’s last days, we discussed it and I expressed he might be the Spurgeon/Moody of the 21st century. He guffawed.

But what do I know?

Dad had a way with words that would stick in your head…”tin foil hats”… “things that are different are not the same”…”the beatings will continue until moral improves”…”the outcome belongs to God”. They are in the Vault, and you can search them.

We saw Sukkot; God’s provision. He set the stage with the people and the resources. We may be dark at http://www.omegaletter.com but as of yesterday THEOMEGALETTER.COM appeared, due to the forward thinking of the Vault’s creator. It’s God’s anyway, He can name it what He wants. There was void and then there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

The Omega Letter Community will remain on Facebook. Patti Wiseman has done a bang up job sharing the Letters with social media and will continue doing so.

As one member pointed out, “Omega Letter Lane” was a heavenly dream of Dad’s. It’s time to expand the neighborhood. We love you all so much. Seventeen years is a very long friendship. Let’s keep in touch over at Frank’s place.

Excerpts from Jack:

God Himself issues a challenge to other so-called ‘gods’ to predict the future:

“Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.” (Isaiah 41:21-22)

Only God is omniscient, or all-knowing. God not only reveals the future, but He foretells the circumstances that conspire together to bring them about.

And, unlike false prophets like Nostradamus or Edgar Cayce, God reveals the outcomes. False prophecies might contain astonishing details about a single event, since Satan knows what he has planned. But Satan is not omniscient.

The best he can do is detail what he has planned in advance to one of his ‘prophets’. He doesn’t know how those plans will turn out. He had a plan to defeat Jesus by having Him killed by His Chosen People. Had he known the outcome, he would have planned things differently:

“Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1st Corinthians 2:8)

God continues His challenge to the gods of this world, saying,

“Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.” (Isaiah 41:23)

God issued His challenge because He knows there are no other gods. He alone is God, and therefore, it stands to reason, that He alone is the only one who could accurately and consistently declare the end from the beginning.

“Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.” (Isaiah 41:24) (Behold, Ye Are of Nothing..2006)

…..What should we take away from this as Christians? Are these experiences necessarily Biblical? Nope. I don’t think so. I don’t even think they necessarily have to be Divine.

They could just as well be an enemy effort at lulling people into believing that salvation isn’t necessary and that everybody goes to a warm and fuzzy place.

But what we should take away from this is the certain knowledge that you aren’t a body — you have a body. You have a brain, but your brain is not your mind — it is your mind’s container.

Your mind is the repository of your consciousness, will and emotions – this is the soul – the part that continues after death. If your soul’s spirit has been quickened, (made alive, or what we call ‘saved’) then to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

If not, then your soul (mind, will and emotions) will be judged according to the things done in the body and cast into hell.

Hell is no fairy tale. It is not a religious bogey-man invented by churches to keep their congregants in line. Hell is as real as heaven. Jesus described it as the place where “the fire is never quenched and their worm dieth not.”

Heaven is a real place, too. It is the place where “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

As we approach the end of this present age, we are exhorted to look for the Rapture, the “Blessed Hope” when the Lord Himself will come for the Church and we will meet with the Lord in the air.

It is the hope of every believer.

But in reality, death is really just an advance ticket to the Big Show. Those already dead return with the Lord and get their resurrection bodies first. But they are already with the Lord.

Everybody wants to go to heaven. But nobody wants to die. That’s why the Rapture’s called “The Blessed Hope.” (The Final Trip…2010)

….We are living in the last days. There is no time to bandage the walking wounded, the battle has been joined. Every soldier is desperately needed on the line.

A soldier on the line does his best, and that is all anyone can ask. Especially the One Who really KNOWS that you are doing the best you can.

And He not only understands, He made you to a specific purpose, which is why all things were lawful to Paul, but not all things were expedient.

What may appear as defeat to you from your vantage point in the action may actually be a tactical victory somewhere else up the line. Only our General knows, and He says, ‘Trust Me’.

Take heart! Don’t let the fact you are a sinner steal your victory. The only prerequisite for being a Christian is that you must be a sinner first. God has a plan for your life, and He has somebody for you to talk to.

That appointment is so important to God that He has arranged your whole life until now — just so you would be available to keep it when that appointment comes due.

Will you be there to keep it? Or will you be licking your wounds in defeat off in a corner somewhere? We’re running out of time, and the enemy’s sole focus for your life is to keep you defeated and ineffective as the hours tick down to the Final Confrontation.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians (12:9)

Today will be the last publishing from www.omegaletter.com. But there is an upside… Jack’s briefs are not lost.

We have mentioned the Vault a few times. In the age of information, we, as a collective, miss things. We aren’t reading to the end of the story. Time is of the essence, I suppose. (Psalm 46:10)

THE VAULT functions a little like Dad spoke. There is a search, maps and Jack’s book “The Last Generation”. And it all FREE. The best part is that it is not isolated to the internet. It’s a mini download to your computer. It’s there, on your computer, for you and your ministry, as an archive, forever!

Towards Dad’s last days, we discussed it and I expressed he might be the Spurgeon/Moody of the 21st century. He guffawed.

But what do I know?

Dad has a way with words that would stick in your head…”tin foil hats”… “things that are different are not the same”…”the beatings will continue until moral improves”…”the outcome belongs to God”. They are in the Vault, and you can search them.

We saw Sukkot; God’s provision. He set the stage with the people and the resources and we may be dark at http://www.omegaletter.com but THEOMEGALETTER.COM will remain. It’s God’s anyway, He can name it what He wants.

There was void and then there was light. (Genesis 1:1) Ya got to start somewhere!

The authors are archived in much the same manner as the Vault and that will all come together eventually.

In the meantime THE Omegaletter Team is diligently working on several projects to get the Word out. Pete has his site…
Alf has his..
Jerry has his…
Steve has his..
Wendy?? She is on sabbatical for now.

“Omega Letter Lane” has already come together. It’s time to take it outside the neighborhood. We love you all so much. Seventeen years is a very long friendship. Let’s keep in touch over at Frank’s place.

Excerpts from Jack:

God Himself issues a challenge to other so-called ‘gods’ to predict the future:

“Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.” (Isaiah 41:21-22)

Only God is omniscient, or all-knowing. God not only reveals the future, but He foretells the circumstances that conspire together to bring them about.

And, unlike false prophets like Nostradamus or Edgar Cayce, God reveals the outcomes. False prophecies might contain astonishing details about a single event, since Satan knows what he has planned. But Satan is not omniscient.

The best he can do is detail what he has planned in advance to one of his ‘prophets’. He doesn’t know how those plans will turn out. He had a plan to defeat Jesus by having Him killed by His Chosen People. Had he known the outcome, he would have planned things differently:

“Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1st Corinthians 2:8)

God continues His challenge to the gods of this world, saying,

“Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.” (Isaiah 41:23)

God issued His challenge because He knows there are no other gods. He alone is God, and therefore, it stands to reason, that He alone is the only one who could accurately and consistently declare the end from the beginning.

“Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.” (Isaiah 41:24) (Behold, Ye Are of Nothing..2006)

…..What should we take away from this as Christians? Are these experiences necessarily Biblical? Nope. I don’t think so. I don’t even think they necessarily have to be Divine.

They could just as well be an enemy effort at lulling people into believing that salvation isn’t necessary and that everybody goes to a warm and fuzzy place.

But what we should take away from this is the certain knowledge that you aren’t a body — you have a body. You have a brain, but your brain is not your mind — it is your mind’s container.

Your mind is the repository of your consciousness, will and emotions – this is the soul – the part that continues after death. If your soul’s spirit has been quickened, (made alive, or what we call ‘saved’) then to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

If not, then your soul (mind, will and emotions) will be judged according to the things done in the body and cast into hell.

Hell is no fairy tale. It is not a religious bogey-man invented by churches to keep their congregants in line. Hell is as real as heaven. Jesus described it as the place where “the fire is never quenched and their worm dieth not.”

Heaven is a real place, too. It is the place where “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

As we approach the end of this present age, we are exhorted to look for the Rapture, the “Blessed Hope” when the Lord Himself will come for the Church and we will meet with the Lord in the air.

It is the hope of every believer.

But in reality, death is really just an advance ticket to the Big Show. Those already dead return with the Lord and get their resurrection bodies first. But they are already with the Lord.

Everybody wants to go to heaven. But nobody wants to die. That’s why the Rapture’s called “The Blessed Hope.” (The Final Trip…2010)

….We are living in the last days. There is no time to bandage the walking wounded, the battle has been joined. Every soldier is desperately needed on the line.

A soldier on the line does his best, and that is all anyone can ask. Especially the One Who really KNOWS that you are doing the best you can.

And He not only understands, He made you to a specific purpose, which is why all things were lawful to Paul, but not all things were expedient.

What may appear as defeat to you from your vantage point in the action may actually be a tactical victory somewhere else up the line. Only our General knows, and He says, ‘Trust Me’.

Take heart! Don’t let the fact you are a sinner steal your victory. The only prerequisite for being a Christian is that you must be a sinner first. God has a plan for your life, and He has somebody for you to talk to.

That appointment is so important to God that He has arranged your whole life until now — just so you would be available to keep it when that appointment comes due.

Will you be there to keep it? Or will you be licking your wounds in defeat off in a corner somewhere? We’re running out of time, and the enemy’s sole focus for your life is to keep you defeated and ineffective as the hours tick down to the Final Confrontation.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians (12:9)

I providentially discovered Jack Kinsella and the OL some time after the events of 9-11. By that time I’d left my New Age past behind. I was still finding my footing and wondering what this world was coming to.

Ironically, I found Jack by doing an internet search for Hal Lindsey. The irony is that I’d rejected Hal’s ideas prior to becoming a New Ager. I actually bought some of his books and promptly gave them to my mother. They just happened to be an answer to her prayers. But that’s another story.

After the 9-11 wake-up call I wanted to check if Hal, the Old War Horse, was still around. From what I was seeing around me, his warnings appeared to be coming to fruition. Perhaps he wasn’t just a raving lunatic after all! Maybe I was the one who needed to read the memo.

Because of Jack’s connection to Hal my internet searches exposed me to an early version of the Omega Letter Website. It took some time before joining. However, I was immediately drawn to Jack Kinsella’s incisive commentaries and sarcastic wit.

For the longest time I read all the free briefings. Finally, I couldn’t get enough and became an OL member. One of my most touching memories happened after my first comment. An older Vietnam vet (Lou Talley) immediately reached out to me. Lou is now with the Lord and I still miss him.

The OL has always had a close family atmosphere. It was a secret, safe haven we could all go to; to chat with, pray for, and comfort each other. Sure there were squabbles. The Holy Spirit was there too. We always made up and blessed each other.

One thing I loved about Jack was that he allowed us to quarrel – he didn’t micro manage the forums. He’d only cut in when he felt the bickering went too far, as it sometimes did. Then he became the wise big brother who brought peace to the family.

John “Jack” Michael Kinsella went to be with the Lord on March 14 2013. I’m hopeless at recalling dates, but I know this because I still have a token of his memorial service on my desk. I’m looking at his photo as I type, and often wonder if the angels keep him informed of the goings on in this broken world. How busy would Jack be if he was still writing daily briefings!

It was a bitter-sweet honor and privilege to attend his service. Bitter because we lost Jack and missed him terribly. Yet it was sweet because Jack was now with the Lord. Jack’s family blessed me that day, and others too I bet. To this day I wish I had his family’s testimonies on video. They filled me with hope and encouragement. I’ll never forget it.

A few of us often whimsically muse that Jack might have set up an Omega Letter Lane in Heaven. Lou is there along with other members who’ve gone to be with the Lord. They’re likely sitting down laughing, talking with the Lord, and sipping heavenly lattes, while waiting for us to join them. Oh to have an ear into those conversations!

We’re all very fortunate that the Omega Letter lasted so long after Jack’s departure to heaven. This is a testament to the commitment and dedication of his family. With all my heart, I’d like to thank Gayle, Kari, Mike and all else concerned. It takes a lot to maintain a safe website!

Kari must be applauded for her commitment to providing Jack’s past briefings on a daily basis and keeping them relevant. I thank all the writers (current and past); as well as those involved in getting the graphics done, and the social media postings. Finally, I’m very grateful for the privilege of writing for the Omega Letter over the years.

Sometimes God allows a door to close. Then He opens another one. He is sovereign and good and we must trust Him whatever happens around us. This is a hard lesson for me, so I’m not preaching – just reminding myself.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

This world is becoming increasingly wicked – moreover the events in the Middle East suggest that the Lord may be returning soon. Let’s all pray for the church, for lost souls, keep watch and seek closer fellowship with, and commitment to, the Lord.

I’m particularly concerned about keeping in touch with members who aren’t on social media. Many don’t have churches to attend. The OL prayer forum was a place of support for them. Let’s keep in touch with each other! There’s always a chance that a future safe space will be created for fellowship.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matt 18:20

My wife, Alesia, and I have set up our own website Zeteo 3:16. You can read our Statement of Faith HERE and our Mission Statement HERE. Those of you who aren’t on social media can reach me via our Contact Form. We can then keep in touch via e-mail etc. I can also be reached on Facebook and am happy to try to connect people to other writers and members.

Finally, I have a lot of favorite Bible verses which give me comfort. This one comes to mind right now:

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1Cor 2:9

As one of the Omega Letter members often says, “Keep Looking up!

Maranatha!

NOTE From Frank

I’ve always considered the Omegaletter website a safe place to meet and talk with a loving group of like-minded Christians about current events and their significance in Bible prophecy without having to deal with the trolls, naysayers and the like.

It’s tiring and all but impossible to have a Christian conversation on Google, You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook etc. without all the noise and attacks and in some case even being blocked for saying something that the world hates.

We’re all going to miss the OL terribly, but it has been on my heart to have a safe place to meet. That’s why with the help of some others have set up a website https://omegaletter.chat. The membership is by email invitation only and any of the members can invite others to join after they have been members for some number of days. Time will work this out for the best way to handle.

It’s not going to look at all like the OL site we love, but working hard to try to keep it a safe one from those that would seek to do us harm in body and spirit. It will definitely take some time getting used to, but I hope that some of the upgrades and newer features will compensate for what we have lost on the OL, or at least make a few things tolerable, while we fulfil he great commission and longingly wait for Jesus to tell us all to “Come Up Here!”.

Please remember that it IS a work in progress, and there will be bumps along the way.

Moving forward, will try to add in some of the nice things that we have all gotten used to on the OL. We all hate to see the Omega Letter Website go, but that does not mean we can’t keep in touch.

Since we are starting from scratch here, If you want to join, Send a message to Alf or myself on Facebook or an email to omegaletterchat@gmail.com with the email address you want to receive the invitation on. There is NO fee to join or use.

In 2010, I had a “calling” to write a series of books about the last days. The calling had been there for decades, but I never heeded it. I did not know why God would be calling me to write, since I had no book writing experience and because I had been so adept at sinning. As a Christian, I would sometimes get angry at myself; because I so often talked-the-talk but did not walk-the-walk. It is difficult.

In May of 2011, The End Part One was published; but I remember how down in the dumps I was when I wrote the final chapter. It was a lot like the day after Christmas, when I would have a “let down” feeling that it was over. I did not want it to end.

When I finished the final chapter in Part Two, the feeling was the same. The saving grace: I had another to write.

This week, I am writing the final chapter of the final book, Part Seven. It is titled The Ninth of AV and concludes with a world in disarray and on fire, wars and civil wars, a Muslim antichrist and Pope Pius XIII as the False Prophet. Only the return of Christ keeps mankind from killing everyone. Once again, I feel saddened that it will be over this week. It has been the most wonderful journey.

In reading reviews of the series on Amazon, each book is rated between 4 and 5-stars and the praise is humbling. However, there are a few negative comments that the books do not exactly follow scripture. Of course, that is true. The predictions of the major prophets, the minor prophets and the apostles concerning the last days would be beyond my capabilities to write exactly the way the scriptures are written. There is too much left for interpretation.

But my target market is not the saved, but the unsaved; not the found but the lost, like I was. I believe that God’s guidance formed my thoughts throughout to help me save at least one individual and possibly, many. The series incorporates plenty of scripture but not an overwhelming amount. Had I loaded it up with scripture; the people I want to reach would not read it.

The characters for the most part are not churchgoers. Except for Jeffrey Ross, the lead character, all the main characters are believers… sort of. They claim Christianity but have not read or studied the Bible, except for Abe the Bartender, a Messianic Jew. They go to church at Christmas and Easter, but it is more of a social event than a Holy event.

Over a period of years and a series of tragedies, these friends, mostly senior citizens begin to notice all the unprecedented events and how similar they are to stories they heard or read at church. Water turning to blood, fire falling from heaven, the rise of a sinister ruler that no one knows is sinister and all the disappearing people.

If you haven’t had a chance to read, I hope you will. You can follow the lives of Abe the Bartender, Wild Willy, Sheryl and The Admiral, Chadbo, Condi and Jeffrey Ross as Islamic terrorism hits the Bible Belt; and the world is going to Hell in the proverbial handbasket.

It will be sad to finish the final chapter.

There is another Final Chapter in my life right now as I conclude my final Omega Letter, and I am not alone in my sadness that Omega Letter will close. God led me to the Kinsella family, and I am so glad I met them. As I read the letters from Jack and the other phenomenal writers, I was humbled when asked to join this group. It was another one of my many gifts from God.

Before joining the Omega Letter family, Kari asked me to send Part One so they could have a read. When Jack read it, he wrote an article recommending it to Omega Letter readers. We mailed more books in the following 48 hours than we ever have, before or since. And what a magnificent group of readers and subscribers to this family business! Many of our lives have been blessed by Kari, Mike, Jack and Gayle. My life has also been blessed by those who commented on the weekly articles.

I hope you will continue to stay in touch, either through my author page on facebook or via email.

Pete started a facebook page, EFTB Even From the Beginning, and I hope you will check it out.

One thing I have noticed about sadness is that it often leads to gladness in ways we do not understand. God weaves mysteries in our lives. I feel confident and pray that Omega Letter makes a comeback. If so, I will be there with the other writers. Our love for this family runs deep. Until then, may God smile on the Kinsella family and all of you.

Ever noticed how often God changed people’s names? Abraham and Sarai (both of whom acquired a “Heh”, when God changed their names, “Heh” being the Hebrew letter that represented the Holy Spirit.). Jacob, who became Israel, meaning “ Prince of God” . Peter, who went from Petros (pebble) to Petra (boulder). Conclusion: names matter. They carry a spiritual promise. Apparently from Adam on.

We all know God himself named Adam:

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them.”

God made the man and called him Adam (the word for man being Adam), and let him name everything else. But names matter. And it would seem Adam had a little help with picking names, or at least some divine inspiration. Because the names that followed Adam’s carry the biggest spiritual promise of all.

Genesis 5 gives the genealogy of the first family, beginning with Adam and continuing down to Noah, at which point the population of earth kind of got a fresh start. Specifically, in order, the genealogy names:

Adam

Seth

Enosh

Kenan

Mahlalel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

Noah

Adam, we already got covered. It means “man”.

The meaning of Seth’s name is revealed in Genesis 4:25: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

Seth means given. “Allotted. Appointed.”

From here on out, however, you have to dig a little deeper to figure out meanings. I use Blueletter Bible’s online Interlinear/concordance and it’s awesome . (Click on the root words for more depth of meaning.) Lots of fun.

Kenan, from its root word means sorrow, grief, lamentation (see Ezekiel 2:10, 27, 32) We get the English verb to keen, meaning to cry in a way that represents absolutely inconsolable grief, from the Hebrew root word for Kenan.

Mahalalel, from its root words. means “the God who is to be praised” See Proverbs 27:32and look at the Hebrew words in a concordance that gives you the actual word for more examples.

Jared means “to descend, to come down” See Genesis 18:21, and look at the Hebrew words in a concordance that gives you the actual word, like BlueletterBible.com for more examples.

Enoch, from its root word means “to teach, to train up”. See I Kings 8:63.and look at the Hebrew words in a concordance that gives you the actual word like BlueletterBible.com for more examples

Methuselah literally means “his death shall bring” a prophecy of Methuselah’s death occurring simultaneously with the onset of the flood.

You can do the math for yourself using the lifespans of the patriarchs in Genesis, and it does.

For another example of Methuselah being used to mean “his death shall bring” see Psalm 43:3 in a concordance that gives you the actual Hebrew words, like BlueletterBible.com

Lamech is the one word that carries over into English. Lamech means to lament. to despair. To lose all hope. It’s a combination of the Hebrew prefix “le” meaning “toward” and “muth” meaning “death.”

Toward death. I think we get the idea.

Noah, as implied in Genesis 5:29: And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.”, means a place of comfort, quiet, rest.

So what’ the spiritual promised here in this list of names?

The one I promised you? Just read the names in order:

Man

is given, appointed, allotted

desperate, sick, mortal

sorrow

The God who is to be praised

shall descend, come down

teaching

his death shall bring

those who despair, lament, and mourn

a place of quiet, comfort, and rest.

I have taught this a dozen times and I still have chills.

We serve an awesome God. One we’ll meet someday soon in the sky.

And how cool is it that when we do, we’ll have a new name given to us by the Lord himself. (Revelation 2:17)

I’ve never liked my name much. Wendy was not a name with a weight with a weight of tradition behind it (J.M. Barriemade it up for the book Peter Pan from a word he used to describe his daughters chums” “fwendies”. And for some reason (Probably just because it was the sixties, and nature names were the rage) classmates and teachers alike seemed convinced that it was actually supposed to be “Windy”. Making matters worse, my mom paired my first name, Wendy, with the middle name Gale (as opposed to Gail) which brought me my share of grief on the playground.

And then married into Wippel. Wendy Wippel. Which actually gets guffaws from time to time.